Tuesday, 19 June 2012

Pastel Hair Q & A!

So, I get asked a lot about pastel hair and how to achieve it, so I thought I would do a general Q&A on my blog which hopefully is helpful!

Pastels are so on trend this summer, so why not take the leap!

This will also be great for ombre hair or just a few flashes of colour.

PLEASE CONSULT YOUR HAIRDRESSER BEFORE TAKING THIS ADVICE AS THIS IS JUST WHAT WORKS FOR MY HAIR AND I DON'T WANT RUINED HAIR ON MY CONSCIENCE! :)

1) Do I have to bleach my hair to achieve a pastel shade?

In one word, yes! Unless you have extremely light hair to start with, you will need to bleach it until it is a pale yellow, or similar in colour to the inside of a banana!

2) What bleach do you use?

I use a professional bleach mix, which is below:

This is Loreal Professionel Platifiz Precision Powder bleach and it is blue in colour - Sallys sell this for around £27 per tub although I found it much cheaper here

You will also need to mix it with a cream peroxide - this comes in different volumes, 10 vol, 20 vol, 30 vol and 40 vol - 40 vol is EXTREMELY damaging to hair so I would not recommend to use this and certainly do not go over 40 vol.

I use 30 vol as my hair is naturally very dark, plus I had some stubborn red in my hair but for general use or for lighter hair I would recommend 20 vol or if you are blonde already 10 vol.

Here is the cream peroxide I use:

This is £4.99 from Amazon although you can buy from Sally's Beauty Supplies also.

Just mix the powder and cream until it is a creamy consistency, usually in a 1:1 ratio, mixing enough to cover your whole head.

3) Should I just keep bleaching my hair until it is white?

NOOOOOO! Please do not do this, as it will damage your hair and cause it to break. Once you have achieved a pale yellow colour, you can just use a toner from there to achieve a lighter look.

I use this one:

This is marketed as a twice weekly shampoo but it is actually a toner and is extremely good! I picked this up from Amazon for less than £3 and it smells amazing! (more on this range later)

Another good toner is this one:

which is available here, although most 'alternative' stores stock this as well

4) I am not a hairdresser but I do have a Sally's store nearby - should I just go there and buy all my supplies?

You may get a good deal there, but in my personal experience, I have found it cheaper to buy my hair supplies from Amazon - if you have access to a trade hair supply store, then you will have access to cheaper products but if like me, you do not, Amazon is definitely worth checking out - I paid £32 for all my initial bleaching stuff (powder bleach, cream peroxide, toner, shampoo, conditioner and colour) and it would have cost £45 just to get the bleach, peroxide and colour from Sallys! (PS I am not affiliated with Amazon I just think they're good!)

5) OK, so my hair is the right shade of blonde, what now?

OK, now its the fun part!

The above brand Directions offer lots of different shades, including pastels, although they tend not to last as long (PASTEL IS A BITCH FOR FADING AND NOT LASTING!)

I initially used Crazy Colour in the shade 'Lavender', which again I bought from Amazon for around £5 - however, if you have long or thick hair like me, you will need 2 bottles.

A more cost effective way of achieving a pastel colour would be the following:

* Take one tub of Directions colour in the colour family of the pastel you want to achieve - EG I wanted lilac hair so I chose Directions 'Violet', which is a dark purple

* Next, purchase a big bottle of conditioner from your supermarket - this doesn't need to be fancy - the one I used was Tesco own brand coconut conditioner and it was 85p

* Next, use a plastic bowl and pour a large amount of conditioner in to it - next, take a tiny amount of your Directions colour and mix it in to the conditioner until you achieve your desired colour

* Apply this to the hair - I leave it on for an hour but as it is not damaging at all, you can leave it on for longer if you wish

This is a much cheaper way of achieving pastel colours, as your tub of dye will last a long time and if you stick to using cheap conditioner as a mixing agent, it will be more cost effective

RECOMMENDATION COLOURS FOR THE CONDITIONER MIXING METHOD:

I WANT PASTEL PINK:Directions Carnation Pink, Cerise or Flamingo Pink

I WANT PASTEL BLUE:

Directions Lagoon Blue or Turquoise

I WANT PASTEL GREEN /MINT:

Directions Spring Green or Apple Green

I also recommend doing the above and using a funnel to pour it in to a bottle (just an old conditioner bottle will do) and leave it by your bath and apply as a regular conditioner each time you wash your hair and that way the colour stays topped up!

6) What can I do to help my damaged hair?

Having pastel hair will damage your hair. However, there are some great products out there can help.

These are the ones I use but there are plenty more out there!

Shampoo

Touch of Silver Shampoo

If you have pastel hair, this range is AMAZING, so affordable and it works! Around £2 from Amazon although your local chemist may have it

Regular Conditioner

Touch of Silver Conditioner - same as above, around £2

Weekly Intensive Conditioner

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Re-constructor - I coat my hair in this from root to tip, apply a warm towel to my head and leave it for as long as possible - this is a tip from a hairdresser friend and it works beautifully! Around £5 from most supermarkets, Boots, Superdrug, etc

I have also heard that the Macadamia range is great, so that is next on my list to try!

7)What can I do to help my colour stay fresh?

I know this sounds gross, but wash your hair as little as possible - dry shampoo is your friend! I really recommend the Touch of Silver one if you have white silver, pastel or pale blonde hair as it is amazing and better than Batiste in my opinion.

When you do wash your hair (I wash mine 1-2 times a week), wash it in as cold a water as you can stand - this helps to seal the colour in

Also, use my tip above and mix a bit of colour in to your conditioner, so you are topping up your colour with every wash!

WOW mammoth post - I hope it was helpful to you guys! As I said, I am not affiliated with these companies, this is just what I have found that works and wanted to share.

Please take a look at my other blog!

About Me

Hello, I am Dolly, owner of DOLLYgirl Felt Designs. I create bespoke felt creations using wool felt, fabric and vintage trimmings - every piece is as unique as you! If you would like more information, please feel free to email me at dollydevine@gmail.com.